Stigma
by FirebatRay
Summary: Happy Birthday to me! But no one is there to celebrate it... Friends... You'd expect them to there for you... Oh well... They are only HUMAN after all... :)
1. Prologue

*Years ago, the world was inhabited by humans and monsters. They lived in relative peace and happiness but it was not meant to last. We were taught that the humans attacked first but it was because the monsters were planning a full-scale assault against them. Not wanting the monsters to draw first blood, the humans struck the first blow of the war.

*Even with their combined powers, the monsters were powerless to resist the human onslaught. They eventually surrendered and as punishment for attempting to disrupt the peace, the monsters were sealed underground, somewhere in the world…

With the monsters gone, humanity flourished and the world was peaceful once more.

...

...

* But… Is that the entire story? I've read through countless books and internet sources & forums about the subject. I can't help but feel that there is another side to this story… A side that they, the humans, don't want the future generations to know… What secrets did those humans want to hide? Was the war really caused by monsters? Were the humans truly the heroes of the war?

*I really want to know… What really happened before and during the war. I'm not satisfied with what my history teachers or my books or online forums would say about it. There has to be another story behind all this other than "the monsters were planning a surprise attack on the humans".

*But because of my curiosity, I gained the hatred of many people in the village, especially the kids. They accused me of being sympathetic to monsters. Maybe I was. Because it's really unfair that the monsters are the only villains of this war. There should have been human villains as well. With all the video games, anime, and even history itself, I've seen that both sides doing their own set of evils. So why are humans depicted as completely "good"?

…...

…..

*Why didn't any of them realize that? Why is everyone so stupid? Why are they satisfied with these sketchy records? Why hate me for being different? Why? Why? Why?

*Why…?

*This is why I hate humanity….

* * *

*Who am I you ask? Well… I think you should already have a pretty good idea.

*But for the stupid humans who haven't figured it out yet, my name is...

...

 **...CHARA**


	2. Town of Morons

_*I like stories. Do YOU like stories? Cuz I got a really good story in mind, you'll listen, right?_

 _*Great! Now where to begin…?_

 _*I know! I'll start with my hometown or as I'd like to call it, Foolsville. Actually, there's nothing worth talking about in this good-for-nothing town! Well, save for the overpopulation of moronic sheep who live their lives in relative ignorance!_

 _*Yuck! I hate ignorance! Ignoring the painful truth just to live a peaceful lie? What idiot would choose that? Oh right… A lot would._

 _*People like to say they want to know the 'truth' but once they don't like it, they coil up and make excuses to invalidate that 'truth'. So much for 'wanting to know the truth'. Talk about hypocrisy._

 _*But I'm veering off topic. My story begins in an orphanage. That's right! I was an orphan. Left as a baby in front of those two big doors! Haha! Looks like my sorry excuses of a mother and father, didn't want me around!_

 _*Meh… Like I care._

* * *

 _*Alright then! Let me get back to the story. It was a regular weekday morning. Same old routine as always. I get my food, which was either rice porridge or some toast. Today, I got rice porridge._

 _*Anyway, I sit down on the same table, with the same meal, and surprisingly, with the same 'set' of 'friends'…_

"So you guys ready for the new school year?" Jaycee asked as he ate some rice porridge

 _*Jaycee was one of my oldest friends. 'He's always there for you when you need him…'_

"Eh, not really" Carla replied "It'll be the same old boring stuff as last year… How about you, Chara?"

 _*Carla was a recent 'friend'. I met her just a year ago._

"M-Me?" I replied with a nervous tone "I-I'm not really that excited…"

"Why not?" Jaycee asked

"W-Well… I-I'll probably get bullied again, that's for sure…"

 _*One thing that never changes every school year was that I'd be the victim of a bully in class… You see, for some reason, I have this luck of finding someone who enjoys bullying me._

 ***I hated it all**

"Don't let it get you down" Jaycee said as he pats my back

"Yeah. We'll protect one another!" Carla added with a smile "So don't worry, Chara. We'll be there when you need it most!"

 _*Those words actually gave me some comfort… And I can't believe I actually believed them_

 _*They were lies, plain and simple. All lies… I shouldn't have trusted them… I shouldn't have trusted ANYONE!_

"Y-Yeah!" I said with a smile "Th-Thanks guys!"

 _*The first day of school is always one of the dullest parts of the school year. For starters, people advertising themselves and their 'superior' skills in the form of 'introducing yourself'. Disgusts me now that I think about it…_

 _*But the one thing that is prevalent to all are the bullies. They either look for 'fresh meat' or 'old meat' to torture. Cowards all of them. Pretending to be strong and powerful only to find out that they're just weaklings pretending to be strong._

 _*As I enter the torture chamber that is my classroom, I always pick the seat at the back row, next to the window. One thing I like about the school is the view from the 3rd floor classrooms. I'd stare at the horizon and the big blue sky all day long. I'd dream that one day, I'll fly through the sky and finally be free from the prison that is my life…_

 _*But until I gain my freedom, I'll have to endure the suffering…_

"Hey" Carla said as she pats me in the shoulder, bringing me back to reality "Daydreaming again?"

 _*I just smiled as we both chuckle a bit. Then the most hideous abomination walks into the room. She was pale, tall, and thin like one of those vain supermodels…_

"Is that…?" I said as Carla looks behind her

"Janine" Carla muttered

 _*Janine. Stock-up, good-for-nothing, dare I say more? She's a self-loving Schizo and a coward, plain and simple. If she can get away with something, she'll do it even if it's wrong then when she's caught, she'll either beg for mercy or point fingers. You know, standard coward tactics._

 _*Not only that, I also saw Jao, Alex, and a couple of other bullies whose names I totally don't give two stuffing's about._

"Great…" I said with a dejected voice "… Now I know this'll be another bad year…"

"Come on, Chara! Like what me and Jaycee said, we'll be there for you! Jaycee's just in the classroom next door so we'll always meet up during lunch and break! So chin up, Chara!"

"Y-Yeah… You're right…"

 _*It didn't take long for our homeroom teacher to arrive. I still remember his face: Somewhat tall, a little bit of brown on his skin, and glasses, yep those goofy glasses of his. Forgot his name though._

"Alright class" My homeroom teacher said "Let's get this ball rolling! Time to vote for your class officers"

 _*Yeah… I wonder what poor suckers are gonna be nominated and win_

"I nominate Chara for President" one of my classmates said after standing up

 _*What…? Was that guy serious? And to top it all off, the entire class actually voted for me and I won…_

 _*To be honest, I actually felt great. I thought being voted for president was a turning point in my dull, miserable life._

 ** _*I was stupid. Stupid for fooling myself into thinking that becoming class president was the start of a good life for me. I was stupid to be actually happy about the big responsibilities that come with the position._**

 ** _*Although, I was right that becoming president was a turning point in my life. But not in a good way…_**


	3. (Un)Happy Birthday

_* Pretty interesting that I keep getting the short end of the stick in so many situations... From school to home to even my own good-for-nothing parents… Despite that, I tried to hold on… I mean, I had two 'good friends'… Or at least I thought I had…_

 _*But I'm skipping way ahead. Let me start with my situation after getting elected. It was surprisingly peaceful actually, the first two months were peaceful. No bullies, well at least in school… I actually made a couple of new 'friends' during that time…_

 _*By the third month, that was the start of everything… It was only a few weeks before my birthday. Normally, I'd only spend it with Jaycee and, as of last year, Carla or, in some years, alone._

 _*But if I do go with those two, we'd go around town and basically have fun. But now that I had more friends and since I was reaching the 'adult age', I wanted a proper celebration… So I planned this party on my favorite spot in the whole town._

"Really?" one of my 'new' friends said

"Y-Yeah" I replied "You want to celebrate my birthday by Mt. Ebott?"

"Mt. Ebott but isn't that off limits to us?"

"Not my favorite spot! It's near the forbidden area but people can still go there. So will you come?"

"Sure! I'll go!"

 _*I practically told all of my friends about it and they all agreed to go, some were even enthusiastic… I was happy that all of my friends, including the new ones, were enthusiastic about my birthday! Back then, I thought that all those times I spent doing part-time work and saving any allowance I'd get was worth it although, I was a bit sad that Jaycee and Carla couldn't make it._

*Then that fateful day came…

"Where's everyone…?" I wondered as I sat on a bench looking over the stupid town

 _*It was already 2pm and no one came… My party was supposed to have started two hours before… I patiently waited for a few more minutes before finally deciding to text my friends._

"Where. Are. You. Guys?" I mumbled as I entered the exact same sentence on my phone

 _*It took a good 10 minutes before someone replied. After that, the texts just came flooding in…_

"I'm sorry but I couldn't make it to your party. I forgot I planned something today so… Sorry…"

"Was it today? Oh… Sorry… I have gym practice so… I can't go…"

"Sorry! I can't go! I have to stay home over the weekend because family time. You understand, right?"

"Bummer… If only I knew it was today, I would have kept my schedule open. Sorry… Happy Birthday though!"

 _*They all forgot my birthday… So basically, I planned and spent for my own party and no one came… Can you imagine how painful that was? Your so-called 'friends' bail out on you and even went as far as to forget your own birthday…_

"Why do I always get the short end of the stick…?" I thought as tears began to stream down my eyes

 _* I got depressed almost immediately. If I didn't remind them, they would have gone through the entire day without even realizing it… Just that, a few wild cats and dogs arrived, they all looked kind of hungry._

"Oh well…" I said as I looked at the animals' sad eyes "No use letting all this food go to waste…"

 _*In the end, I ended up giving my food to some random strays… The animals were quite grateful for my generosity and it lifted a few weights off me but it wasn't enough to lighten my psyche…_

 _*Once all the food was gone, the animals each went their separate ways, and once again, I was alone… Since it was only about 4pm, I decided to go up the mountain, which meant going through the forbidden zone. With my self-esteem really low, I couldn't really give two stuffings about the 'forbidden' part of the area and I decided to break the rules for once since it was my birthday._

 _*Honestly, I couldn't really see why the area was off-limits. I mean, there was a path going up the mountain and it looked like it was a tourist attraction once…_

 _*Eventually, I reached a cave. It was spooky but I felt that I had to go in and explore a bit. YOU had that same feeling, right? When you walked into the same CAVE._

 _*Anyway, I eventually saw this huge hole. Looking down, I couldn't see the bottom. It looked like some sort of bottomless pit. Tired from my trek up, I decided to rest for a bit. I sat down in a corner of the cave, near the hole as I bring out my favorite sour candy._

"I guess whatever I do, I always end up being alone…" I muttered as I ate one of those delicious Frutos "...Why does this keep happening to me...?"

"Is someone there?"

*A disembodied voice suddenly echoing throughout the cave, creepy. And the fact that it sounded like a small boy, made it even creepier. I immediately sprang from my position and looked around but no one was around.

"H-Hello…?" I said with a hint of nervousness "I-Is anyone there?"

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

"EEP!" I shouted "Wh-Who's there?!"

"Uh… Sorry… I-I didn't mean to startle you"

"Wh-Who are you? Wh-Where are you?"

"I think from where I am, you're right above me"

 _*"Above me?"_

 _*I admit, it took me a while to figure it out_

"Th-The hole…?" I wondered as I took a peek but saw only an endless darkness below "You're at the bottom of this hole…?"

"Y-Yeah… I think so… This is my favorite spot actually. You surprised me when I heard you talking out loud…"

"S-Sorry… I didn't know other people went here too…"

"People? What's that?"

"Huh? W-Well… Other humans I mean…"

"Humans?! Y-You're a human?"

"Uh yeah… Wait. You're not human?"

"Um… N-No…"

"D-Does that mean you're a… monster?"

"Y-Yeah…"

 _*It was quite awkward at first actually…_

"Oh… I guess we can't be friends…" the voice said

"Why not?"

"Well I heard the humans were the ones who banished us here"

"S-So? I-I don't think that's a reason for us not to be friends?"

 _*Even before, I was open-minded enough to even consider a monster as a potential friend. If you had my 'friends', you'd also think monsters as potential friends. Besides, I was already skeptical about the history behind the Human-Monster War._

 _*Long story short. I made a new friend… It was quite enjoyable. We talked for hours, going from one topic after another. I never thought my birthday would end up like that… But everything has to end eventually…_

"Oh…" I said as I looked at my phone's clock "…It's getting late I better go…"

"Aw…" the voice said with a dejected tone "…Will… Will you… Will you be coming back here…?"

 _*I hesitated for a moment since this was the forbidden zone and if I get caught, I would have been in a load of trouble. But this 'monster' could be my first real friend…_

"Yeah" I replied "I'll come back here as much as I can"

"Ok!" the voice said enthusiastically "I'll come back here at the exact same time every day! I'll be waiting ok?"

"Sure. Wait. I forgot to ask your name"

"My name? It's Asriel"

"Nice to meet you, Asriel. I'm Chara"

 _*And that was how I first met Asriel… My dear best friend…_


End file.
